This report is intended to provide guidance to develop enabling legal frameworks governing community forestry. It offers recommendations and a framework for reflection for all actors engaged in creating, implementing or revising laws on community forestry. It results from the acknowledgement that enabling community forestry laws have the potential to secure long-lasting environmental, social, economic and cultural benefits.
Drawing lessons from the design and implementation of community forestry laws in Nepal, the Philippines, and Tanzania, our report revolves around ten building blocks to consider in order to develop supportive community forestry frameworks, namely:
- Land and forest tenure
- Community forests allocation
- Community internal governance
- Community participation and representation of vulnerable groups
- Community forestry management
- Access to markets
- Benefit sharing
- Conflict resolution
- Enforcement
- External support
In addition, this report provides guidance to conduct legal reforms with the view to design an appropriate legal framework. It lays down key principles for designing legislation on community forestry, and identifies where to locate different legal provisions.
The report is available to download from: https://www.documents.clientearth.org/library/download-info/communities-at-the-heart-of-forest-management-how-can-the-law-make-a-difference/ . It is also fully available in French from here.